Jackie Walker to address Scottish students at pro-Palestine event

Labour activist Jackie Walker is to address Dundee University students at a pro-Palestine event after the principal declined to withdraw her invitation.

The event has been organised by the campus’s Action Palestine group in conjunction with the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign to be held on 29 March.

Walker, who was suspended twice by the party last year over alleged anti-Semitism, is presently under referral to Labour’s national constitutional committee after a panel found she had a case to answer over comments about Holocaust Memorial Day and anti-Semitism.

Walker was filmed at a Jewish Labour Movement training event at the Labour Party’s annual conference saying Holocaust Memorial Day should include other genocides – despite it already doing so. She also said she had not yet seen a definition of anti-Semitism she could “work with” and questioned why Jewish schools needed special security measures.

Walker was dropped as a vice-chair of Momentum after her comments received widespread condemnation.

Professor Peter Downes, the principal of Dundee University, had been urged to intervene but on Friday a spokesman confirmed the event would go ahead as planned.

Walker was also due to speak at Aberdeen University, but her invitation was withdrawn earlier this month.

On Saturday, the activist described allegations of anti-Semitism against her as “absurd”. She added: “I am a lifelong anti-racism campaigner. I believe strongly in free speech that stops short of hate speech.”